Harry Rogers-Stark
by mugglemomto1
Summary: Ficception inspired by Darkness of Birth by njchrispatrick. What happens when Tony is forced by Howard to conceive a child by Captain America, and how will Steve feel about this when he thaws from the ice? Read, review, and follow
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Darkness of Birth Ficception:

Tony winced as the doctor finished stitching him up, glaring in immense hatred at the man across the room who was gazing at a small infant with adoration in his eyes. He was whispering something incoherently to the infant, but Tony couldn't make it out. His genius brain was still in a fog, trying to clear from all the medications that had kept him in a docile, coma-like state, while the infant had gestated in him.

He winced as he felt another needle go into his arm, drawing out some blood, glaring at the doctor who held him down. He even growled a bit.

"Oh, calm down Anthony," Howard scolded. "You are going to wake Grant."

Tony grimaced as he heard the name. Of course he would name the child after his long-lost friend and obsession. For years, Tony had wanted his father's love, trying everything to gain it, from building a hover car then to graduating MIT while simultaneously studying at Salem Institute for Magic Users.

He had always wondered if Howard had hated his gifts he had inherited from his mother, technology and magic didn't always work together until Tony had figured out away around it; he had figured it out so he could spend time with his dad, but of course that never happened. Howard always figured out a way to stay away whether it was to do his CEO stuff or to look for the long lost Cap. Never did Howard make time for him. _How in the hell would he do it for this new kid, Grant._ Tony sure as hell didn't want anything to do with him.

"Why?" Tony rasped out. Month after month they had kept him drugged, kept him prisoner, and impregnated him. "Why me? And who is the other donor?"

Howard smiled at his son for the first time. "All these questions, I'll do my best to answer your curious mind. Why? Because Tony, you have the advanced genetics that we needed. We tried artificial wombs with your genetic material along with the donor material. It never took, it always failed. I even tried."

Howard lifted his shirt, showing a scar on his abdomen.

"It just wouldn't take. I mean, I figured my genetic material with Steven Rogers would work, but . . . sometimes when you experiment, things just don't go the way you plan. Then I remembered your mother having you tested a long time ago when we had you tested for the magical gene. You are what are called a magical carrier in you and your mother's world."

Tony sighed. He had walked away from the wizarding world. There were too many regulations and strange customs. He was never going to fit in there and had decided to embrace his no-mag heritage instead. His magic was still intact, however barely used, and his wand was always tucked away on his forearm, though his father removed it during the abduction. He would have to find it, and soon. There was no way he wanted to feel this vulnerable again.

He stared at his father as he continued.

"Tony, you have always been my greatest creation, a brilliant mind with talents beyond all beliefs, even if you squander them away and get drunk at every pass. You made it so easy to capture you . . . always getting high and getting drunk Hell, your behavior made your absence from Columbia so much more believable," Howard smiled at the infant in his arms, muttering inaudible things to the small baby.

"Your genetic material with Steven's made for a perfect match. And with your magical carrier gene, made this little miracle possible. Grant probably surpassed you as the greatest creation. With some testing a little later on in life, we can probably take his genetic material and rework the super serum formula."

Tony sighed. He watched as his father, no Howard, had walked out of the room with the infant in his arms. Tony had never wanted to be a father, and he felt a twinge of sympathy for the baby in Howard's arms, for this kid would be nothing more than a tool as well.

Tony shuddered, closing his eyes.

His father had violated him in the worse way. He may have been drugged, but he remembered his father "obtaining" the material. Even drugged up, his eidetic memory made it possible for him to remember almost everything. _Damn if he didn't already hate the man._ He squeezed his eyes shut, willing away the memories and refusing to show weakness. He was Tony Stark for fuck's sake.

He moved gingerly, not wanting to pull any of the stitches he acquired along his side, from where they had pulled the infant out. There where lingering questions on what exactly Howard expected from Tony, what roles he had to play. He had only just turned nineteen, finishing his MBA and masters in engineering now. He was sure that he would have to catch up on the work, not that it would take him long.

Howard had assured him he still was paying his tuition, and that he had filed for Tony to be on sabbatical for the semester due to "family reasons."

Tony scoffed. At least the man didn't cut him off financially. Even though, Tony was sure, that he could build his own company from the ground up and surpass Stark Industries if he wanted too.

Tony laid back, allowing the healing magic in his blood to take over. Magicals did have advanced healing abilities naturally, he did overall heal faster from hangovers and common household injuries than no-mags.

 _Alright Tony, think, what is your next move._

He sure as hell didn't want anything to do with the child, even though he was half genetically his. Chances were that he would fuck it up, even if he did want him.

 _Two months later._

Tony held little Grant close to him, trying to shush him so Howard wouldn't walk into the room. He was getting ready for their trip, and Tony didn't want Howard finding out what he was up to in his own home.

Tony still had wanted nothing to do with the kid, but he also didn't want Howard to win in his sick game, so he made plans and nurtured Grant better than his father did, mostly just to stick it to Howard. Grant instinctually reached for Tony whenever he they had been apart, something that bothered Howard to no end. But Tony knew that things wouldn't last.

Howard had already started drawing Grant's blood, testing him for abilities. _A two month old._

Tony had to admit, the kid was cute, _how could he not be_ , even though he was wailing at the top of his lungs. He had blue eyes, with flecks of green in them, however had inherited Tony's dark hair. Maria had commented that Grant looked a lot like Tony had. She didn't even question Howard when he said that Grant was Tony's kid from some woman he had met in a bar and that Howard had paid off.

 _Thanks Mom._

Howard had also handed most of the child rearing to Tony, which had bothered him, but at least Grant would not have Howard as his parental figure for much longer. No, Tony had plans to hide the child away. There was no way that Tony would allow another child be hurt by his father.

But tonight was the night. Howard had to fly somewhere and Maria was instant on going with on a mini shopping vacation for herself and her newly acquired grandchild.

Maria did spoil Grant, giving the child everything that Tony didn't buy him. _He wasn't going to get attached._

He watched as his parents left the house, flipping his father the bird one last time, hearing his mother chastise him. If everything worked, Grant Steven Stark would be safely hidden where Howard would no longer have access to him, and Tony _and Grant_ would be free. He looked at the small bruise on Grant's arm feeling some sympathy for him.

"Don't worry buddy, I will take care of you," Tony vowed.

He walked a quarter of the mile down the road, before getting into an old beater of a car, driving himself to the airport. He was able to procure a private jet without difficulties, money talked, and cash made things move even more.

Tony landed safely at the small regional airport in the UK, making his way quickly with Grant through the country side. Tony hadn't been back in the magical world in quite awhile, but had gotten directions from Lily.

Tony and Lily had met when he had participated in some school event to promote international cooperation between schools. He had just really wanted to get away from his dad, and well, going to Scotland to live in a castle that no no-mag could find seemed like the most logical thing to do.

He made some great friends that year. 16 seemed so far away, even though it was only 3 years ago. James was literally his distant cousin through their mothers, and his friends were awesome. Lily was prim and proper on the outside, but had a quick wit and a sharp mind.

He knew he was getting close because the GPS in his car started blinking in and out. He also knew he was doing the right thing.

He pulled up to a small cottage, pulling the small infant into his arms. There was a kissing gate and a stone path cutting its way through a beautifully manicured lawn. Lilies were lining the walk way up, which was of course, his best friend's favorite flower. The cottage was stone with maroon shutters and a matching maroon door. On the door, a griffin knocker was in place.

"How very Gryffindor," Tony muttered. "Not that it matters at all Grant, you will be raised by these lovely people and will be in that house."

Tony held his breath, closing his eyes. Leaving Grant with Lily and James would be the best choice. They weren't on the grid, or in any electronic system. There was no way that Howard could get his hands on Grant to continue to test on him.

He knocked on the door, hearing Lily yell to James to open up the door. Tony held his breath, hoping that Lily and James would do this for him.

The door opened, and James took one look at his distant cousin. "You look like shit," James paused, "The baby is cute though, yours?"

"I'm hoping he will be yours," Tony rushed out.

"Well, you better get inside, Lily would hate it if you and sprog caught a cold, since your delicate Malibu arse can't take a little bit of cold."

"Thanks man."

Tony followed James into the house, settling in to tell him about his father's violation against him, the subsequent pregnancy, and need to protect Grant at all costs. James and Lily listened, gasping in all the right places, looking at the two of them.

They seemed to communicate silently, something that Tony personally found a little weird, probably some married magic he didn't understand.

"Tony, are you sure about this? Magical adoptions aren't something that can be easily broken," James spoke up. They had just heard from the doctor, and he had been declared infertile. They had planned on donor sperm and James infusing his magic into the fetus, and that would definitely be an option to expand. But it seemed as if Tony just wanted to give them an already magical child, who was already tied to James by blood.

It would be simpler process in the short run.

"Look, I am not father material, my father is not father material," Tony stated. It was a matter of fact. "This is the only thing I can do to make sure the kid has a decent shot at life."

"He's your son," Lily pointed out.

"He was a science experiment, basically forced into me. Look if you don't want to help . . ."

"Tony we want to do this for you, but, you are a little attached to him."

"I'm doing the right thing for him," He replied. It hurt a little, Tony could admit that to himself. His son, but not really his son. He was confused, but knew, just knew he had to do the right thing, and this was the right thing.

He sighed.

"What is his name? What is his birthday?" James wanted to know.

"Grant, but please change it. I have no clue what his birthday is, I was too drugged up to recall. Close to the end of July, maybe early August. I also set up a trust vault for him for you to use for his care at Gringotts."

"We don't need your money, we are well of through our own inheritance," James reminded him.

"Then keep it for him, a gift or something from the fun loving Uncle he never sees. Vow to keep him safe," Tony begged. "Keep him away from all from that would harm him."

"We promise."

Tony pulled out the adoption ritual and vows, the ritual that would effectively add James and Lily as his parents. He couldn't genetically wipe out his and Steven Rogers contribution, but at least in the wizarding world, the kid would be recognized as James and Lily's son.

"What are you going to name him?" Tony asked so they could complete the ritual.

"Harrison James Potter," Lily stated. They were planning on using that name for their first born to honor their father's. "Harry for short."

The ritual was completed.

Tony let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding.

It was finished.

He turned to leave, seeing the newly christened Harry reach out for him, but he didn't reach back this time. He had parents now to protect him. He walked out the door silently and made his way back to Columbia.

He got the call that night that Howard and Maria had died on their way to the airport.

He cried for his mom, and laughed hysterically that his old man had died in an automobile accident of all things. That fucker deserved to die a slow painful death.

Tony was officially free.

 **AN: This story is written with permission from njchrispatrick. This is a ficception of Darkness of Birth. If you haven't read it, read it. There will be lots of divergence from the path of his, and sporadic updates, but stick with me. Reviews rock my socks.**


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Time jump, approximated 7-8 years after the first chapter. Also, I had noticed some typos, and went back to fix and add some other little things in the first one. There will be mentions of abuse (sexual, physical, and emotional), grooming, and neglect. You have been warned.

Some things to note:

1\. Tony is closer to 26 in this chapter. He has been deaged from the comic and MCU universe to be closer to the age of his teammates, kinda. Events of chapter on took place when he was 19, he took over SI when he was 21, kidnapped and Iron Man 1 took place at 24.

2\. Lets assume that Rogers went into the ice at 25, and he has been out for 2-3 years now.

3\. Avengers happened before Iron Man 2, solely because I need him to go through palladium poisoning when he is interacting with Steve. He is already familiar with Natasha through his dealings with Shield.

4\. This is taking effect right after Avengers 1.

On to the chapter.

Chapter Two:

The cleanup after the attack was slow going. There was an immense amount of clean up needing to be done and a lot of structures were damaged. Steve and some of the other agents had actually gotten finished clearing out an old Shield storage facility that had been damaged. There were several old journals of Howard Stark that appeared to be personal, and Steve had attempted to give them to Tony, however Tony told him to keep them, that the memories of his father were horrible and that it was better that his old man was dead.

"Keep them, better yet burn them," Tony had replied before walking off, grabbing scotch and heading to deal with some of the damage that had been inflicted on some of the other structures that Stark Industries had held in New York and to head over to the Expo. The Stark Expo though hadn't been touched in the mayhem and they were still working on getting it going in the next couple of weeks. It would help get New York back on track, or at least that was what Tony was telling himself.

Steve felt though that he couldn't in good conscience burn them for him. The Howard Stark he knew was an innovator, a patriot, pretty much a good guy. Natasha had told him though that Howard had been experimenting on himself, giving himself a dumb down version of the serum, and that he had become a heavy drinker, which was a stark contrast in the man that Steve had known.

Apparently Tony came by his alcoholism honestly.

He had missed a lot being in the ice for so long.

Nothing was the same.

He turned over, glancing at his clock. It was close to 3 am, and he wanted to get some sleep, but he knew it would be pointless. Another nightmare would just wake him up. When he was younger he had nightmares of getting beat up where Bucky wouldn't be around to save him, being isolated, not being good enough. The nightmares were added to when he got older, of his mom dying, then of losing Bucky in the war. Now since the recent battles the nightmare continued with someone dying of the team, of Tony not waking up after hitting the pavement.

Steve groaned, getting up for the day. Since the super serum, he didn't need to sleep as much, and needed to eat twice as much due to his metabolism burning through everything twice as fast. He rolled out of bed, pulling on a shirt not wanting to walk around Avengers Tower with his shirt off.

Just as he was walking out of his apartment, his eyes fell on the journals of Howard Stark.

Figuring that no one would be up, Steve grabbed the top one that was embossed with the initials TSGS. Steve didn't quite know what to think, but he went ahead an opened the journal anyway.

Steve flipped through the journal. Howard had been experimenting on a way for two men to have a child that was genetically both theirs, to at least help with homophobia. It was a noble thought, Steve mused. Why shouldn't people have children?

He did not really understanding the science behind things, muddling through the science and the thoughts. Howard was a very convoluted thinker, almost thinking and writing in a string of consciousness. It went from wanting two men to procreate to Howard wanting to bring back to super soldier through the use of his, well his specimen that he left behind. He had been touched that Howard had spent a lot of his own personal funds trying to find him, but at what cost? He soldiered on through the reading, beginning to feel sick on his stomach.

Apparently Howard had experimented on Tony, who apparently had advanced genetics (though that really wasn't explained), impregnating him.

Rage filled him for Tony. The teenager had rightfully hated the man.

He fought and kept his breathing under control, realizing the ramifications. He had a child with Anthony Edward Stark. A man he had no clue how to deal with. _How the hell was he going to talk to Tony about this?_

He had flipped through the journal more, seeing that Tony was keep is mostly a medical induced coma, which Steve was grateful for as it certainly had been forced on the teenager. From what he was able to piece together, Howard had basically kidnapped his son, kept him drugged up, and would experiment on his samples and with samples from Tony. Apparently one of the experimentations had taken.

He read as the notes became less and less, and got to the point where Tony had been induced into labor and the child was born. _Where was the child?_ Maybe this was all a cruel joke that Tony played on him . . . but he knew, deep down that Tony wouldn't have even thought to do something this cruel to him.

Steve sighed, not knowing what to do.

He needed to know though about Grant, where was Grant, was there a picture of him somewhere? He felt so alone in this world, but maybe he wasn't alone at all.

HRS HRS HRS

Steve debated for several more hours, letting his brain work through the information. In good conscience, he at least needed to know about Grant and where he was. He wanted to make sure that his son was safe.

He picked up the journal, hoping that Tony would be responsive when talking about this.

After searching through the workshops, labs, and training rooms, he finally found Tony sitting in the kitchen eating, while working on his StarkPad. He was hunched over, his eyes squinting at the screen.

"You should probably get your eyes looked at," Steve mentioned, getting his attention.

"I had Lasik several years ago, the hits to the head during the last battle just caused my eyes to go out of focus, it will come back, always does," Tony murmured, not turning away from his work.

Tony looked down, staring at the numbers on his screen. He was dying of palladium poisoning. There was no getting around that now, if his math was correct and it always was he had about 2 weeks left. _Oh well, at least his kid was safe and sound._ He made a note to change his will, leaving everything to the little boy who was now known as Harry James Potter.

Tony closed his eyes, willing away the memories of a little boy with brown hair and Steve's eyes reaching for him. He wanted to get a drink right now to deal with those memories, but he couldn't. He needed to stay focused and to figure out what he was going to do about the palladium.

Steve had placed the journal down, pulling out his own little book to write down Lasik, another thing he had to look up.

Tony froze for a second, staring at the journal. He thought he had covered all of his bases. He had given James and Lily the birth certificate and had thought he burned down the lab where Harry had been conceived and born.

He didn't say anything and was gathering up his stuff, hoping to dodge what was sure to be an uncomfortable conversation.

Steve though seemed determined, and spoke before the genius could leave the room.

"How?" Steve asked. "I know you have advanced genetics but what does that mean?"

"I am a magic user, or some people call us Wizards," Tony replied. He whispered a spell changing the book into a hawk and then changed in back. Mainly to prove it, and to make sure that the pallidum poisoning didn't mess with that as well. "The current thought is that the mutant have a deletion on the magic gene that the magical population carries. Mom was a witch."

Steve nodded, having heard about wizards and magic users in his time. They were a secret society, and kept to themselves not wanting to be outed.

"Where is he?" Steve asked. He asked so quietly that Tony wouldn't have heard him if he hadn't been anticipating the question.

"Safe," Tony responded.

"Not good enough."

"Can we do this later Cap, I need to get over to the expo, put on a little show for the crowd," Tony told him.

"No, I just need to know . . ."

"It's none of your business and not your problem."

"Of course it's my problem," Steve roared, getting frustrated even though he promised himself he would try to keep his cool. He knew though that it would be a struggle with Tony, he was just an infuriating man. "He's my son!"

Tony saw red, the palladium poisoning canceling out whatever filter (not that he ever used it much), letting some long held secrets and hurt spewing forth to the surface.

"No, he is James and Lily Potter's son! A product of a deranged man. He wanted another notch in his belt, a way to bring back to the super serum. Grant was an experiment, something that Howard forced upon me. My own father fucking jacking me off to test my sperm, and then to help the process along because if I was "satisfied" then the pregnancy would be healthier. They had hoped keeping me drugged up would help, help with the psychological ramifications, but my damn perfect memory and recall don't allow for that to happen too often.

"James and Lily took him in. He is safe and loved by them, and not being experimented on by Howard! I did everything I could do keep him safe, and I will stand by that decision now!" Tony roared right back. "I gave him up for adoption, walked away as he was reaching for me. For two months I cared for him and loved him, holding him after fucking Howard drew his blood, gave him injections of some kind! He being safe and loved was the only thing that got me through Afghanistan, him being cared for and loved was the only thing that got me through Obi's betrayal. I flew a fucking nuke into a wormhole because I prayed to God he was still safe in England and not visiting here by some damn fluke. I have tried for 8 years to get him out of my mind and I will not have you ruining my life and his because of your need to play happy family with a kid that has a happy family!"

"I just need to make sure!" Steve yelled, taking a couple of steps toward Tony.

"Stay away," Tony yelled back, panic was taking over.

"I can't. I need to know that he is alright and being taken care of appropriately. I want to see him. Tony, I can't explain it, but I need to see him." Steve attempted to reason with him.

"Good luck finding him, I made sure that no one would ever be able to find him."

Tony sprinted toward the landing plank and jumped, calling the Ironman suit to him. He was speeding off toward the expo. Tony didn't even spare him second glance, getting his head back into the game.

Steve stared at where Tony had just taken off, processing more of the information. Howard had violated his son over and over again, just for the sake of science. _That explained so much._

"How much did you two hear?" Steve sighed, looking at Nat and Clint, who had been in the shadows, not wanting to interfere.

"Enough," Nat replied. "I didn't know that Stark was a magic user, though it explains some of the tech that he has been able to dream up of."

Steve sighed, sitting down. "I just need to know that he is taken care of. I never knew that Howard was this type of man."

"There were whispers of the experimentation on Tony," Natasha mentioned. "Whispers of Stark experimenting with a serum that would increase health, reduce aging . . . whispers of human experimentation. I just never believed he would do it to his own flesh and blood."

The Black Widow herself knew the ramifications of human experimentation. She could sympathize with Tony.

"I will look up James and Lily Potter," Clint offered. "Stark did let their names slip, and we know that he placed the kid there. I will let you know what I find."

 **AN: Reviews rock my socks.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

Tony landed on the landing strip of Stark Tower after his little publicity stunt feeling like complete shit, _palladium poisoning would do that to a person._ He sighed, knowing that Steve would want answers, but there were still unknowns. There were people working for this "little project" that Tony knew were still out there. _What if they found Harry and would continue Howard's work?_

Tony would never allow that to happen. So he continued to keep his son hidden with people he knew would love his son as their own.

He had cut all ties with James and Lily on Harry's first birthday, not wanting to keep getting updates and pictures. James and Lily had meant well, sending the letters and pictures, and James was right, it was painful to have given up his son, he had rushed . . . but it was the right thing.

Harry was being loved by them, and he was dying of palladium poisoning.

Tony sat, dangling his legs off the ledge of the tower, his fear of heights long gone since becoming IronMan. He heard the sliding doors opening, but didn't bother acknowledging the person approaching him.

Steve sat down next to him, looking out at the city around them.

Tony didn't talk, instead opting to allow Steve to lead the conversation. He knew that he had already let out more then what he had planned on, but he figured this was a good thing. A calculated risk. Someone else needed to know of Howard and Harry, and who better then the unknowing donor. _Who else better to look out for him then Captain America himself_

"Tony . . ." Steve started, not knowing what to say.

"I came to peace a long time ago with what Howard did," Tony whispered. "Dad died the same weekend that I gave him up for adoption. There are a lot of things I would say to him, and don't get me wrong, I hate the bastard. And I hated Harry for a little bit. But when Howard left me alone for him for the first time, I stared at him and realized that he was helpless. He didn't ask for any of it . . . and that is when I decided to help him, to get him away from Howard's poison. It was already too late for me, but I could do it for him. It hurt to walk away from him, but it was the right thing. James and Lily love him. They are his parents, we aren't."

"Tony, I just need to make sure he is okay. I am so alone here. This city isn't the city I left behind. I have no one left. I promise if he is okay, then I leave him alone and not bother his life."

Tony pulled out a picture, handing it to Steve. James and Lily were holding Harry, waving into the picture, smiles on their face.

The picture was a wizarding picture, the movements startling Steve for just a second.

"Harry has magic like me and my mom. He is being raised by two of the best people I could think of to protect him, to keep him off the grid. I don't want him found," Tony paused, holding up a hand to forestall him. Intellectually Tony understood why Steve wanted to see Harry, get to know Harry. But it was unsafe, and Steve needed to know that.

He needed to get his thoughts together. "We were experimented on for the sake of science, for the 'betterment' of mankind. People knew, and no one once did the right thing, no one thought about what would happen to me and Harry, whether it was right or wrong, what it would psychologically do to us. They were so excited to just make a medical break through, which really wasn't due to my genetics from Mom . . . . when Dad died, I wanted to go back, undo what I had did. But there were still so many unknowns, so better to keep him safe."

Tony pulled at his collar, the palladium was making its way up toward his neck, soon he knew he wouldn't be able to cover it. He stood, slightly wavering. Steve placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him.

"I just want to see him, and if he is taken care of properly . . . loved . . . then I will not interfere," Steve whispered looking at the moving picture. "He has my eyes, maybe even my lips, but everything else is you."

Tony nodded. Harry, to Howard's dismay, had been almost a spiting image of Steve.

"Dad was worried that my genetic defects were passed on."

"He seems perfect to me," Steve spoke softly, speaking in wonder of this kid he didn't even know was out there until this morning, but he wanted to see so badly.

"He was perfect. Barely cried." Tony smiled remembering the two months he had with his son. "I don't hate him," Tony whispered, "I just hated how he came about, what Dad did to me, what he forced upon me."

They started walking inside, drowning out the sounds of New York. The penthouse had been repaired quickly because, well money talked and Tony just happened to have an excess laying around. The windows were replaced, and if it hadn't been for the Loki shaped hole in the ground, then he wouldn't have been able to tell that there had been a battle inside the place he and the Avengers called home.

Tony walked over to the bar, making himself a green smoothie to up his vegetable intake. He honestly hated the taste of it, but downed them for calorie sake.

"I take it Clint and Natasha are looking for Harry now?" Tony asked as the blender died away.

"How do you figure?"

"I saw them as I was walking away, figured they would be on it. Let me know what you find. Harry is safe and protected. James and Lily would never let anything happen to him."

"Don't you want to be involved?"

"Better for me not to be. I promised myself I wouldn't mess him up like Howard messed me up."

"Tony . . ."

Tony shook his head again with vigor. "I am not a father, at best I was a contributor to his DNA, someone who looked after him because there was not better option. You will see, James and Lily are loving that little boy and spoiling him completely rotten."

Tony turned, making his way into his room, leaving Steve standing in the common room all alone.

Days had passed, and Steve had noticed that Tony was acting more erratically then previously. No doubt it was because of all the talk of the past, dredging up hurt, the memories. Steve had almost regretted it, but something was telling him not to let it go . . . that he needed to at least check on his son.

Steve watched as Tony fought off some guy with whips and an arc reactor, gripping the table so hard that he felt the wood almost give. He was getting ready to suit up when he saw Pepper fling the case at him. _What would Tony do without Pepper?_ The sassy redhead was a force to be reckoned with.

Steve stood, getting ready to make his way down to the gym when he heard his phone ding, a text message. At times he found technology to be overwhelming, but damn if cell phones weren't convenient for getting messages passed along quickly.

 _Clint: James and Lily Potter died October 31, 2005. Found their obituary._

Steve frowned.

 _Steve: What else did you find?_

 _Clint: Harry Potter is living with his maternal aunt in England. Are you up for a plane ride?_

Steve hesitated for a moment. His son had lost his adopted parents. He had already gone through so much. Should he just leave well enough alone? But he knew the answer deep down, he needed to see his son, make sure with his own two eyes. If Harry was happy and healthy, then he would leave well enough alone. What could a little reconnaissance hurt?

 _Steve: Yeah. Let's go lay eyes on him_.

So that was how Clint and Steve found themselves in a cramped Mini, sitting in front of a random school near Surry. Steve was looking at the files on his StarkPhone that Clint had hacked from the school pertaining to a Harry James Anthony Potter. There was a recent school picture of him, Harry had definitely inherited his baby blue eyes, but there was a scar on his forehead that hadn't been there in the picture that Tony had showed him.

The boy hadn't smiled in his picture, and his eyes looked old . . . sad almost.

Looking at the school records, his grades were just passing, not something that Steve would have imagined from a child who was part Stark, hell, Steve had gotten pretty good grades in school when he was young too.

"This feels too easy," Steve mused.

"If Stark hadn't slipped up and said the names, we would have never found him," Clint said. "There were no records of James and Lily Potter other then the obituary. Harry only had some random school files, and those we had to hack to find."

Steve was silent for a minute.

"Tony isn't one to let things slip so easily. Why?" Steve mused. "His behavior has been pretty self destructive lately."

"Tony has been through some pretty messed up things in his life so far. Seems like Howard pretty much did a number on him, and he did almost die in the last battle, most likely PTSD," Clint rationalized. "I mean, he saw some pretty messed up things Cap, and he is a civilian. Phil had made some notes in his file about his behaviors being erratic after Afghanistan."

"Even though, Tony is pretty in control all the time. There has to be a reason for his slip."

Clint shrugged, hearing the bell for the school, immediately looking up to find their mark. The plan was for Clint to act like he was making his way into the school to sign up one of his kids, easy peasy. Steve was still too easily recognizable, thus leaving him in the van. They even had an appointment with the headmaster of the school for right when the bell rang. _Not like they were actually planning on using it though._

Clint breathed a sigh of relief, happy to get out of the cramped Mini, popping in the special contacts that would allow Steve get the live feed onto his StarkPhone. He waded his way through the sea of children, looking around for Harry.

"On your left, 4 oclock." Steve hissed into his ear. Clint's eyes swept over, spotting a shorter boy, wearing threadbare clothes, shoes that were obviously too big, and glasses there were held together by tape. The boy adjusted his book bag slightly, his shirt slipping to reveal a hand-shaped bruise on his shoulder.

"Follow him Clint. Somebody is hurting my boy."

AN: As always, read and review, leave me some love and feedback. I don't know if I will make this a Stony story or a Superfamily story. Leave me your thoughts. I will be putting this story up as well on AO3, somewhat edited, check it out as well.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

Clint stared at the child, he was almost a spitting image of Tony. Harry had inherited Steve's bright blue eyes, and the shape of his eyes, but almost everything else was all Tony. The curly hair, the tan skin, the glint of intelligence in his eyes, that was all the man who had given the child up, for a hopefully better life.

Looking at the bruise on his shoulder though, he could tell that it probably wasn't the case.

Clint by no means had superhero powers like Steve, but he could hear Steve's breathing change, he could hear the man grinding his teeth.

"Stand down Steve, reconnaissance only," Clint hissed into his com.

"That bruise . . ."

"Is something we will investigate. We don't know what happened, he could have gotten it from the playground or rough housing. You know how kids can be and you are going to attract too much attention, you can't be seen. Stay hidden."

Clint knew his words were easier said then done. He remembered a time with the circus where his little brother would constantly get into trouble, and Clint would put himself on the line, protecting his brother. He was older, he could take it, but his brother couldn't. Clint shook his head, bringing him out of his thoughts, focusing back on the little kid who was quickly making in way down the road.

The kid was undeniably slender, quick and lithe. Something that most likely came from the Stark side of the gene pool, if memory served him correctly, Howard had been slender throughout his life as well. _Not that the bastard had deserved the kids he brought into the world_. Steve pre-serum was more sickly in stature, this kid looked undernourished rather then sick. Clint was almost positive once Steve gained custody (or would Tony), the boy would flourish.

But they had to get custody transferred first.

 _How the hell would Tony react?_ Clint watched as the boy darted between buildings, hoisting himself into a dumpster behind the local diner. The boy was dumpster diving . . . probably to get more nourishment.

Steve watched on his phone, closing his eyes. _This is not what Tony had believed. James and Lily were gone.. Tony didn't know._

Clint watched as Harry sat on the bench at the local playground. The playground looked all but abandoned, as if no one used the equipment anymore. The children who had once played there were probably all grown, sitting around playing video games. Clint sat down on a bench across the playground and started to read the local newspaper. Several minutes passed as the Mini pulled up, and Clint climbed in.

"What is he doing now?" Steve asked, not having to been able to watch as he was driving through the streets.

"I think he is doing homework," Clint replied. "And it seems like he worked through it fairly fast. He just got started about 10 minutes ago and seemed to breeze through everything. He looks like Tony, his eyes were focused on the reading, zipping through everything at an amazing rate of comprehension."

Steve beamed.

Clint watched as Harry walked over to the bench to wear Clint had once sat and picked up the water bottle that Clint had purposely left there. Harry had taken long greedy sips from it, gulping down as much as he could. He also watched as Harry had found the 20 pound note that he had let fall out of his pocket.

The boy looked around, trying to find Clint. He eventually gave up, putting the note in his pocket.

Steve and Clint were both sure the boy would spend it on necessities versus frivolous toys.

That was something he had gotten from Steve's side of the gene pool.

The two men were getting ready to pull away when they saw a gang of bigger kids approach Harry.

"Hey Freak," a large, rotund boy yelled out. He waddled like a penguin, but resembled closer to a baby whale. "Dad's looking for you."

A flash of fear had crossed Harry's face, and then he schooled his features almost immediately.

The rest of the boys laughed, kicking dirt and other small debris at the smaller kid. Steve saw red.

"Steve," Clint whispered, getting the man's attention. "Don't."

"I can't stand bullies, I need to do something."

"Timing is everything," The archer advised. "He has survived this long, another week or two until we can get everything settled quickly won't kill him. We need to find out where he lives, bug the home, and get some proof. We will need to get Tony involved if we need to move fast, money talks."

Steve nodded, not really wanting to leave _his_ kid any longer then what he had to, but he knew that Clint was right. They couldn't just take Harry on suspicion of child abuse, they needed some cold hard proof.

But Steve knew, and it was killing him.

Harry quickly drank down the rest of the bottle of water, quickly discarding it in the nearest rubbish bin. He ran back to Privet Drive as fast as he could, the backpack rubbing the most recent bruise on his shoulder causing pain to course through him. He couldn't believe how stupid he was, getting lost in a daydream after finishing his ridiculously easy homework (homework that Dudley would steal).

It had been years since Harry let himself daydream about anything good, because nothing good ever happened to him. Sometimes when he closed his eyes, he could see dark eyes looking back at him, he could almost hear a soft tenor laugh.

At times, he could feel his arms reaching out to the man.

But, Harry knew that it was a phantom memory, something that he couldn't possibly remember, something that his brain was giving him to latch on to, possibly to help deal with the trauma that he suffered on a near daily basis.

Clint followed the gang at a distance, his keen eyes keeping an eye on the small boy, quickly making his way through Little Whinging to a development of houses that looked at the same.

So boring.

He watched the child cross Wisteria Lane and on to Privet Drive, seeing him wave to a crazy cat lady as he eventually went into Number 4. At least they found out where Harry lived now. All Clint had to do was to plant some bugs tomorrow when the house was empty and to start gathering evidence of child abuse.

He jogged quickly back to the Mini, looking at Steve. _Had it been only 72 hours that the man had found out he had a son?_

Steve was staring down at his phone, fumbling through a text message.

"Tony flew back to Malibu for a couple of days. Natasha is with him. She definitely thinks there is something going on with the man." Steve sighed. His loyalties were divided and he was torn. He didn't want to leave his son, but knew he had to go support his teammate. "Apparently Tony's 27th birthday is in a couple of days and Rhodey was planning on throwing something out in Malibu at Tony's beach mansion."

Clint hummed.

"We are all invited. I don't want to leave . . ."

"We should go though for Tony, we are his teammates. A couple of days aren't going to hurt us, and we need to figure out our next move. The last thing we need is for Captain America to get in trouble for kidnapping a British Citizen."

Steve scrubbed his hand over his face, exhaling loudly.

"This sucks."

"Yeah," Clint said, understanding how the man felt.

Tony was sitting in his Malibu mansion, not really wanting to be there. He knew he only had a couple of weeks left, and had contemplated going to see James and Lily to see his son one last time . . . but not like this.

He sighed, putting his head in his hands. His head operated now at a dull throb, and he could tell that the headache wouldn't go away with over the counter meds.

His bedroom door opened, he expected to Pepper to walk through, however he was greeted by Natasha. She walked over to him, staring at the watches in front of him.

"Go with the Cartier watch," Natasha advised placing the watch on the man's wrist. She studied his face, noting that Tony had aged exponentially in the last couple of days.

"Thanks. I can't get this stupid headache to quit."

Several minutes of comfortable silence passed between the two as she walked over to him a massaged his shoulders for a couple of minutes. He was tense, and as his shirt shifted slightly she noted a criss-cross pattern, a macabre design reaching out from his arc reactor. Nat filed this away for later.

"Thanks Nat, that made this headache a little more bearable," Tony muttered. He normally shied away from touch, his parents never one to give out affectionate touches, and his one night stands were always kicked out after the deed was complete, Tony reflected quickly. It was amazing how dying can cause you to re-evaluate your life.

He sighed, looking at Natasha as he stood at the mirror, letting her tie his tie. He could have done it himself, but it was nice to have someone take care of him. Tony walked over to his mother's jewelry box, and handed Nat a pair of earrings.

"Keep these safe. They deserve to be worn by a strong woman like yourself."

"Tony, don't you think you should keep these for someone special," Nat asked as she looked at the blue diamond earrings.

"Please, just let me do this. Mom had wanted her jewelry to go to women who could handle Stark men, I'm pretty sure that you qualify," Tony said, his tone leaving no argument. "Now, if you knew you weren't going to reach your next birthday, how would you spend this one?"

Natasha looked at him, and she knew, he was dying. _That explained so much._

"I would do whatever the hell I wanted to do," she answered him truthfully helping him into his Tom Ford suit.

He nodded. He would go to his dad's grave and yell at him another day. Today, he would do whatever the hell he wanted to do.

Tony donned his IronMan suit, staring out into the crowd. He was holding a glass of alcohol that he didn't even bother touching because he already felt punch drunk enough. He saw the faces of Pepper, Natasha, Clint, and Steve, all out in the crowd of people who weren't his friends, just people who came for free booze and food. Natasha was whispering something into Steve's ear, his expression becoming grim.

Nobody cared about him. When he died, the company would go to Pepper to run until Harry became old enough to decide what he wanted to do with it. He wondered if James and Lily had told Harry anything about him.

"Blow something up!" He heard someone out in the crown yell.

He opened his eyes, not really seeing anything but a watermelon flying through the air.

 _Why the hell not?_ He thought to himself as he charged the reactor and took aim. Even feeling as horrible as he did, he made contact. Vaguely he was aware as Rhodey approached him, wearing one of his spares.

He was aware of Natasha, Clint, and Steve grabbing everyone, moving them out of the way of the two battling friends, and very aware of his friend telling him he wasn't worthy of the armor.

 _Nobody cared._

He watched as his oldest friend flew away.

Staring at the mansion, he did a quick scan. Nothing structural. Fine, he would fix it for Harry.

"Tony . . ."

He turned at the concerned voice of Steve.

"You came back," Tony said, his voice cracking from the effects of the palladium. He looked around at the small assembled team.

"Of course, we are your friends . . . your teammates," Steve said.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Tony asked.

"Yeah," Steve said. Natasha had told her of his suspicions, and that she had made contact with SHIELD who would be bringing some to help. He needed to stall Tony so they could help him.

"And?" Tony asked, needed to know a little bit about the eight year old he left behind.

"He's perfect," Steve told him. It was the truth. "He looks like you."

Tony closed his eyes, not wanting to hear or see anything else. He had done his job, kept his son safe. He nodded, opening his eyes, looking at his friends.

"Well, great. I told you so, so if you don't mind, enjoy the booze, I'm going off on a quick fly!"

Tony was leaving to die in peace now.

 **AN: Snow days, and time off work means more time to update. As always, please review, let me know what you think. As writers, reviews give us feedback and lets us know what you guys are loving/hating about what we are writing.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

"Damn it Nat!" Steve cried out, watching his friend, his teammate, the other father of his child, fly away. Tony's behavior was too unpredictable, destructive. "What the hell is going on?"

"What the fuck was Rhodes thinking?" Clint shouted angrily. The man was supposedly Tony's best friend, a brother after Tony's parents had died. But the man didn't seem to even notice that Tony was dying.

"Rhodes is under orders, through and through military man. Tony is a liability now. His behavior is going to be brought up now with the senate. And Steve, I told you, he is dying. Palladium toxicity isn't well known on humans, but has been known to cause death with long term exposure in lab rats," Natasha rattled off staying focused, grabbing her stuff from her car. At least her precious corvette hadn't been damaged in the scuffle. She had been studying Tony when she thought she would be his assistant, but the need for the Avengers came earlier then expected. "Palladium has a relatively low toxicity rate, but his heart is constantly exposed to it, has been since he was taken hostage. With the over usage of the Iron Man suit, he could be accelerating the process."

Steve shook his head. "We need to find him, help him. He isn't alone in this!"

Nat smiled, "I helped him get ready for the party, and I slipped a tracker onto his watch."

She pulled out her StarkPad and tapped into the tracker frequency. Luckily it looked like Tony hadn't left California yet.

"I just sent Fury the tracker information, he will meet us wherever Stark settles."

Steve just looked at her, waiting for him to spill more information about their teammate.

"Nat, level with me. How long, when did SHIELD figure it out?"

"He doesn't have much longer. We had an inkling that he was sick. He started becoming more unpredictable, more unstable. Long term uses of palladium, and the way that Tony is utilizing it has not been studied at all," Nat noticed the way that Steve was looking at her. It had dawned on her that Steve was not caught up on anything that Tony went through in Afghanistan. "Abridge version, Tony was captured, taken hostage by men hired by his father-figure Obidiah Stane in Afghanistan, operated on, and forced to make them weapons."

"What . . ."

Nat held up a hand to forestall him. "He didn't, instead he made an electromagnet with the palladium to keep shrapnel from entering his heart, otherwise he would be dead. Palladium is what powers the tower . . .

"Fury assigned me to keep an eye on him if needed, and then everything happened with Vanko and then Loki showing back up, the battle in New York, Stark Jr . . ." Nat trailed off. "I didn't realize how bad it was until I had a second to breathe. It won't happen again."

"We let a compromised man fly a nuke through a wormhole . . ." Clint whispered. The man knew he was dying and most likely figured he would die in the battle, only to survive.

"We need to be there for him," Steve said.

Nat stopped for a minute, looking at the two men in front of her. "Look, Tony is not Howard. He displays classic PTSD because of the battle . . . . narcissism . . . and for all the public bravado, Tony is a fairly private person. Everything that has happened in his life has caused him to be very guarded. He is not going to take it well having all these people surrounding him. What he will want is for you to make sure that Harry is well, and taken care of. Start working on the case against those bastards, and bring baby Stark home."

Clint just looked at her. He was feeling uneasy about everything, but knew that Natasha's orders and feelings were nearly spot on. For someone who wasn't maternal at all, she always attempted to do the right thing by everyone.

Steve scrubbed his hands over his face. Tony dying wasn't something that could pass. Their son needed both of them, and even though Tony didn't want anything to do with Harry at this moment, Steve figured that he was just guarding his heart. Besides, Tony didn't want their son growing up in an abusive environment. That was presumably why he had given him up in the first place.

How different would Harry be if Tony had raised him?

He sighed. Life was easier in the forties.

5555555

Tony landed, and was decidedly hungry. Fuck it, he thought. I only have a couple of weeks left at most, might as well eat what I want.

"I would do whatever the hell I wanted to."

Which is how Tony found himself in a literal donut hole with a half a dozen donuts. His mind drifted, feeling the drunk effects of the palladium poisoning. Tony closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, munching on his donuts, wondering if Lily or James had ever given Harry a donut. He couldn't recall if the wizarding world had donuts, if the didn't it was a damn shame.

He did remember pumpkin pasties, now those were tasty. The next time he ventured into LA he would stop in Callegon de Magos and grab some. Bruce would probably enjoy them as well.

"I'm going to have to ask you to vacate the donut!"

Tony sighed, looking down, seeing double of the one-eyed man. Nick Fury, his mind vaguely recalled the last meeting between them. 'Last thing I am going to see is his ugly mug.' He thought.

Tony rolled his eyes, and floated down to the man. "Coffee first, I can't think straight."

"I can't imagine why," Fury spat back sarcastically.

Sitting in the booth, somewhat uncomfortably in the Iron Man suit, he sipped on his coffee half aware of what was going on.

He turned, seen Natasha walk in. The Cartier watch. She tracked him. Can't a man die in peace?

Tony muttered she was fired, knowing that he had no way of really firing the woman, she was Fury's person through and through.

"I thought you were sick. Tony, damn it, we are a team," Natasha hissed.

"You guys can keep your secrets, but I can't keep mine," Tony grounded out, wishing that the coffee would wake him up more. Fuck it. He pulled a pepper up potion from the compartments downing it. He needed to feel better now and fast.

"So you are a wizard," Fury whispered. "Howard had let it slip . . . honestly, I don't know why I don't remember more."

"An obliviate if another wizard heard. So you knew the bastard too," Tony reflexively shut his eyes, not wanting to think of the bastard. "Asshole keeps coming up a lot lately. How did you know dear old dad?"

"He was one of the founding members of SHIELD. He spoke of you often, always said that you were the future," Fury relayed.

"He must have been speaking of his other son." Tony spat back sarcastically, wondering what would have happened if Harry had been around.

"What do you remember of your dad?" Fury was curious. He knew the man never really spoke of his departed father fondly.

"He was cold, calculating. He never said he loved me, let alone even like me. He barely tolerated me in the end, treating me like I was more or less just another experiment gone wrong."

Fury nodded, knowing that Howard had changed, and no one could figure out why. "The Howard Stark that Captain and I knew was kind and curious. He loved his country and his kid. That technology in your chest was a stepping stone . . . it was a rough draft not the final, not by no stretch of the imagination. Palladium was never supposed to be the power source. He left it all for you, saying that he was limited by the technology of his time."

Tony didn't want to hear it, he rolled his eyes trying to tune out the man. He was going to die anyway. Let someone else figure shit out.

"Hit him."

Tony was so sluggish, he didn't have time to react. The whirl of the device sounded, injecting him with some unknown liquid. He started panicking, remembering a time when Howard was injecting him with unknown liquids.

"Breathe Tony, I'm no here to hurt you," Natasha said soothingly, trying to keep them man from going into a panic attack.

"What are you going to do, steal my kidneys and sell them," Tony exclaimed, rubbing the spot on his neck, though noticing that he was immediately feeling better. "What did you do to me?"

"Not to you, for you," the one eyed man clarified.

"Lithium dioxide," Natasha explained. "It's not a cure Tony, but it will take the edge off."

"We need you focused, and back to work."

"I have tried every known element close to palladium, nothing works, trust me I know, and I'm like a genius."

"You tried every known element . . ." Fury trailed off.

Tony looked up at him, intrigued.

Fury got up, placing his coffee cup on the table rather forcibly, the sound reverberating throughout the restaurant. "Come on, now that you are back online, you have work to do."

Tony shrugged his shoulders figuring why not.

5555555555

Steve stared out over NYC, wondering if he had made the right decisions leaving Harry in England and Tony in California; his somewhat family scattered all over right now. For the life of him he couldn't figure out his next step, and it was unnerving. He was a tactician, always figuring out what the next step could be, and he felt like he was floundering.

Clint had contacted the lawyers to start the legal process of claiming Harry, while Natasha was tasked with taking care of Tony.

Steve closed his eyes, hoping that his teammate could be helped. He couldn't imagine telling Harry that his other parent had died as well, the one who had cared for him, maybe even loved, him so much that he had tried to save him from a life of abuse from Howard's hands. He stamped down the urge to call Tony to see how he was doing, to tell him about their son.

Their son.

Steve knew what it was like to be experimented on, but he did it willingly, and when he was an adult. He wasn't an unwilling 18 year old kid.

That was another thing that was baffling to him, the Howard he had known wasn't at all like Tony had described him. What had changed so drastically in his friend that he would force his own progeny to carry another person's child?

A child who would need both of them. Tony had stated he didn't want anything to do with Harry, but Steve knew, just knew that it was Tony's bravado and perhaps sickness speaking.

"Steve, apparently Stark has the best lawyers in town. They have already negotiated through all the red tape here and are ready when we are to proceed with custody negotiations. The best thing we can do now is be able to collect evidence of abuse that way there will be no contesting the termination of rights."

Steve nodded.

"Come on, I have the jet ready."

There was no way they were going to leave Harry over in England any longer then necessary. He knew, just felt it in his gut that there was something going on with his son.

5555555555

Harry hated bath nights with his uncle. His uncle would stand and watch Harry shower, making sure he didn't use too much of their hot water, or too much soap. It was creepy and made Harry feel uncomfortable.

"You are going to make someone really happy one day," Vernon leered, making comments that Harry would always respond to with a customary yes sir. When Harry was young, Vernon often degraded him, putting down his body. It had changed recently.

Harry shrunk in on himself, hating the way that the man made him feel, but it was this or not be allowed to shower at all. "This summer I am going to have to start introducing you to some of my associates so you can really start earning your keep."

Harry shuddered knowing what his uncle meant, hoping and praying that his life would change. His sharp mind was already attempting to find ways to leave the Dursleys, but everything he tried never worked, and the punishments were always worse.

"Good boy, you didn't go over your soap allotment this time," Vernon commented. "Tonight you will only have 100 lines to complete."

"Yes Uncle Vernon," Harry replied, waiting for the bastard to hand him a towel. It was the smallest, rattiest towel they owned. He pulled on his clothes too quickly for Vernon, earning him a quick cuff to the head, causing his face to hit the door jam. That would bruise.

Vernon clicked his tongue. "You shouldn't be so clumsy boy. Another 100 lines. You know what to write."

He locked the door on Dudley's second bedroom, stepping over the broken toys, making room so he could write on the wall, "I am a drain on my hard-working uncle, a waste of space who shouldn't be alive."

Harry knew the lines by heart, and looking at the small area left, he knew that soon he would have to repaint the room again. As much as he tried, the tears this time wouldn't stop.


End file.
